Late Michael's Moonwalk Memoir

Michael Jackson...an entertainment legend

Jul 28 2009 2:13 PM EDT
Michael Jackson's 'Moonwalk' Memoir To Be Re-Released
Ghostwritten autobiography, originally published in 1988, set for October reissue.

By Eric Ditzian

Plans are already in the works to repurpose almost every shred of Michael Jackson's creative output — music, footage, costumes and more — for various tributes on the big screen, small screen, museum hall and concert stage. Next up is the written word.

Jackson's 1988 ghostwritten memoir, "Moonwalk," is being reissued for publication in October, The Associated Press reports. The reissue will contain a new introduction by a yet-unnamed friend of Jackson's and will have a first printing of 100,000 copies.

In interviews with the AP, Jackson's literary agent, Joy Harris, and the original editor of the book, Shaye Areheart, who is also publishing the reissue, revealed the process behind making "Moonwalk," as well as the harried days after the pop star's death when plans to re-release the book began.

Beginning in the mid '80s, Areheart met with Jackson many times at his Encino, California, home to conduct interviews for the memoir. "He was just a lively, in-touch guy," she said. "And he did have his act together."

They would often sit together by a large fireplace as Areheart asked questions and Jackson spoke answers into a tape recorder. He was "smart and funny and gracious," she said.

Yet the project ended up taking much longer to complete than expected, as Jackson was often occupied with the demands of tours and recording sessions. "His time was constantly not his own," Areheart said.

The book ended up coming out in the spring of 1988 and became a #1 New York Times bestseller. In the memoir, Jackson admitted to being beaten by his father and to having two nose jobs. He dedicated the book to Fred Astaire.

According to Harris, publishers began asking about reprinting the memoir the morning after Jackson's death. She got in touch with his attorneys, who began negotiations and struck a deal with Areheart and her Random House imprint, Harmony.

"It did seem abrupt to me," Harris told the AP. "But when I thought about it, it didn't surprise me, in the way that everything is so immediate these days."